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Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2007I blame aue
From an Associated Press report: "On Monday, Coach Tony Dungy said that the thumb was discolored and sore, and that Manning needed X-rays. Team owner Jim Irsay said later Monday night that the X-rays were negative..." Did that surprise Mr Irsay? Aren't all X-rays negatives? The meaning, of course, is that the X-rays did not show that the thumb was broken. Why is this "negative", though? Isn't it a good thing that the thumb is not broken? In medical parlance, a test or an X-ray that is "negative" is one that reveals that all is well. A positive result means that the patient should start putting his or her affairs in order. In other, non-medical, uses of "negative" and "positive", the meaning is just the opposite. If you sense a negative attitude in this post, it's because I'm blaming aue for my O-A syndrome. (That's short for "Over-Analyzation Of Words As They Are Used") I can no longer casually read the Sports Section over a cup of morning coffee. Words and phrases are jumping out at me and shouting "This isn't saying what it means!" and "ObAue this!".  SignatureTony Cooper Orlando, FL > From an Associated Press report: > [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > out at me and shouting "This isn't saying what it means!" and "ObAue > this!". Positive and negative in medical terminology get their meaning based on the nature of the tests performed. For example, if one is suspected of having hepatitis, a doctor may order a test for the hepatitis C antibody, an indicator of the presence of a virus that causes hepatitis . If the test is positive, that means that the antibody is present, and the patient is carrying the virus. If the test is negative, no evidence of the presence of the virus is found. >> From an Associated Press report: >> [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] >carrying the virus. If the test is negative, no evidence of the presence of >the virus is found. I do understand all of this. I even accept it since I spent all of my working career dealing with hospitals and doctors. What's more, my university education was in the field of business where I was taught that words are not at all necessarily used to convey traditional and accepted definitions. I spent years learning that if we can't actually change a negative into a positive, we can at least come up with a way to do so with words. As a businessman I was never as good at it as the real professionals who write things like the State of the Union address, but I got by. However, my current career is that of a layabout and reader of aue. This has changed my perspective and caused me to examine usage with a different eye. SignatureTony Cooper Orlando, FL >From an Associated Press report: > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] >In other, non-medical, uses of "negative" and "positive", the meaning >is just the opposite. Think of it from the point of view of the diagnostician. If you are troubleshooting, your job is completed once you identify the problem. That's a real positive. >If you sense a negative attitude in this post, it's because I'm >blaming aue for my O-A syndrome. (That's short for "Over-Analyzation >Of Words As They Are Used") I can no longer casually read the Sports >Section over a cup of morning coffee. Words and phrases are jumping >out at me and shouting "This isn't saying what it means!" and "ObAue >this!". Some forms of insanity seem to operate along those lines. Best regards, Spehro Pefhany Signature"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward" speff@interlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com > The meaning, of course, is that the X-rays did not show that the > thumb was broken. Why is this "negative", though? Isn't it a good > thing that the thumb is not broken? > > In medical parlance, And, more broadly, in any sort of diagnostic context. > a test or an X-ray that is "negative" is one that reveals that all > is well. A positive result means that the patient should start > putting his or her affairs in order. It means that the test didn't find what it was looking for. There are situations in which you hope to find what you're looking for. For example, if you're looking for signs of responsiveness in a comatose patient, "negative" is a bad thing. Similarly, if you're looking for signs that a treatment is working, you want the tests to be positive. > In other, non-medical, uses of "negative" and "positive", the > meaning is just the opposite. In classification contexts, "positive" similarly means "We believe this to be an example of the class we're considering/looking for" (e.g., likely donors, good credit risks, terrorists), while a "negative" means "We believe that it isn't". SignatureEvan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------ HP Laboratories |He seems to be perceptive and 1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |effective because he states the Palo Alto, CA 94304 |obvious to people that don't seem |to see the obvious. kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com | (650)857-7572 | Tony Cooper http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ >> The meaning, of course, is that the X-rays did not show that the >> thumb was broken. Why is this "negative", though? Isn't it a good [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] >(e.g., likely donors, good credit risks, terrorists), while a >"negative" means "We believe that it isn't". On a similar note, I still sometimes get confused by those deathbed scenes in films when someone takes the moribund person's pulse, looks up and slowly shakes his head. What -- so he's not dead yet? SignatureArchie Valparaiso (Me? I blame the weather.) > On a similar note, I still sometimes get confused by those deathbed > scenes in films when someone takes the moribund person's pulse, looks > up and slowly shakes his head. What -- so he's not dead yet? I always figured he'd just lost a bet he made in the staff room. -=Eric >> On a similar note, I still sometimes get confused by those deathbed >> scenes in films when someone takes the moribund person's pulse, looks [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > -=Eric The locus classicus of medical neg-pos must be "Noiss! Eether this man is dead or my watch has stopped!" SignatureMike. -- Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com Ross Howard: >>> On a similar note, I still sometimes get confused by those deathbed >>> scenes in films when someone takes the moribund person's pulse, looks >>> up and slowly shakes his head. What -- so he's not dead yet? Eric Schwartz: >> I always figured he'd just lost a bet he made in the staff room. Mike Lyle: > The locus classicus of medical neg-pos must be "Noiss! Eether this man > is dead or my watch has stopped!" That's Groucho Marx in A Day at the Races. The companion line is said by John Mills in The Wrong Box, just after his nephew (Michael Caine) has pulled the sheet over his face: "Death cannot be assumed just because signs of life are not present!" SignatureMark Brader, Toronto | "The time to make up your mind about people msb@vex.net | is never." --The Philadelphia Story Archie Valparaiso filted: >>In classification contexts, "positive" similarly means "We believe >>this to be an example of the class we're considering/looking for" >>(e.g., likely donors, good credit risks, terrorists), while a >>"negative" means "We believe that it isn't". One of my favorites concerned a medical report on former president Reagan: "doctors examined Mr Reagan's brain but found nothing".... >On a similar note, I still sometimes get confused by those deathbed >scenes in films when someone takes the moribund person's pulse, looks >up and slowly shakes his head. What -- so he's not dead yet? I understand the ambiguity; it's a shame that the death-keen never really caught on in humans....r Signature"You got Schadenfreude on my Weltanschauung!" "You got Weltanschauung in my Schadenfreude!" > If you sense a negative attitude in this post, it's because I'm > blaming aue for my O-A syndrome. (That's short for "Over-Analyzation > Of Words As They Are Used") I can no longer casually read the Sports > Section over a cup of morning coffee. Words and phrases are jumping > out at me and shouting "This isn't saying what it means!" and "ObAue > this!". O-A syndrome? You mean you don't think first of Old Age? Most persnicketiness comes from that, I think. |
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